Why does the account of their occupation of the village provide a comic interlude in the account of battle?

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"The scenes in the evacuated village are full of a certain bitter comedy. Paul and his friends make use of the opportunity to celebrate and live a charmed life because the chances to relax and become human are so few and far between. While Paul’s decision to stay and finish his pancakes while bombs are falling around the kitchen seems insane, there is an appropriately demented logic to it: pancakes are his favorite dish, and he might well die the next day and thus never have them again.

There is, of course, a dark side to this scene. Paul and his friends are so used to being bombed and shot at that they can actually maintain the nerve to protect their meal during the bombardment. Moreover, they are so starved and hungry for real food that they are actually willing to risk their lives for it. At the same time, their antics while guarding the supply dump provide some hope. Remarque seems to imply that despite the ravages of war, small elements of humanity and human folly can survive the trenches."